Barcelona fans, players, coach stay positive after CL exit

21 April 2017

It is 21 years since Juventus won the Champions League and they must be considered contenders.

Juventus put on a masterclass of defensive football to reach the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, frustrating Lionel Messi and earning a 0-0 draw against a Barcelona side hoping for another miraculous comeback. "I'll keep remembering that first half at Juventus Stadium". "Tonight they all had a great match, we could have played for an entire day without conceding". Even Barcelona, outdone by Paulo Dybala's impressive brace and Giorgio Chiellini's 55th minute header in Turin last week, had to agree.

The veteran right-back was a long-time colleague of the Barcelona striker and was on hand to comfort his countryman.

"Two teams were playing to attack, one out of necessity, but [Juve] have not just locked themselves in".

There was widespread anguish among Juventus fans when Conte left to coach the Italian national team and he was replaced by Allegri, who had been fired by AC Milan just a few months previously. Juventus is again on course to win Serie A _ where it has an eight-point advantage _ and is in the final of the Italian Cup against Lazio.

"I'm annoyed we couldn't win the game because we tried with all our strength but we couldn't find the path to their goal".

"The self-belief of the team has grown a lot", he said Allegri. "It is clear we are very hurt to be eliminated from a competition that excites us so much, but now comes a key game against the leaders and a direct rival. We gave everything we had".

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon feels it may be in his side's interest to avoid facing Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.